The booksigning and my latest research

The booksigning at the Old Exchange Building in Charleston went pretty well. I'll be doing another one next Saturday, May 3, at the same location. For someone with my incredibly limited budget it's a good way to get the word out about the book and actually talk to people face-to-face about it. (Corporate America calls it "facetime," which is a fancy word for "talking.")
I met one gentleman from Homeland Security who seemed particularly intested in the subject of smuggling prevention. I also met a few Sailors and Marines. Of course when I spoke with the Marines, we didn't bother talking about the book, we just shared memories of the Corps.

I've been going through more old newspapers on microfilm. There's a great website called newspaperarchive.com, which has a great collection of old newspapers, some going back to colonial times. So if you ever need a good collection of primary sources and you don't feel like leaving your computer, newspaperarchive.com is a great starting point. The best part about the site is that you can type in some key words and the search engine will actually pull up those newspapers, which you can view in their entirety.

I've also been reading a great book titled "Only Yesterday" by Frederick Lewis Allan. The book, which was first published in 1931, gives a good overall summary of the 1920's for the layman. Anyone can pick up that book, read it, and understand it, regardless of their knowledge of history. What is interesting to note is that the 1920's was very similar to the 1960's in certain ways, including a revolution in music, dance, sexuality, intellectualism, phsychology, and a widespread disregard for traditional values. The Victorians considered Jazz the Devil's music much like rock and roll would be considered later on. The 1920's also brought provacative dancing like the tango, the mambo, and many other styles of dance that involved girating body parts, sexually suggestive moves, and close physical contact between men and women. Sex before marriage became far more common and socially acceptable. Because of the general disillusionment following the Great War, plus the public's greater exposure to new scientific theories explaining the universe, many Americans disregarded religion and Victorian ideals. However, while there were many who disregarded the old values, there were just as many Americans who held on tightly to their old ideals, like the Prohibitionists.

If you want to read the definitive book on the '20's, "Only Yesterday" is that book.

Book signing this weekend!

This Saturday, April 19th, I will be doing a booksigning at the Old Exchange Building, located at 122 East Bay St. in Charleston, SC. The Exchange was used as a headquarters building for the Coast Guard during World War II. It was also used as a Customs House as far back as 1771. The reason I mention those two facts is because the Coast Guard and Customs play a central role in my book. Although I do not discuss South Carolina much in my book, Charleston was, and is, a major Southern port and is a smuggler's dream with its numerous waterways and marshes.

In fact, next to the exchange is a building that has been selling liquor since the days of pirates. During prohibition, there was a secret passageway underneath the building to transport liquor from the nearby wharf. Down the street from the exchange, on Broad Street, is a pub called the Blind Tiger, which served liquor during Prohibition. Under Prohibition laws, it was illegal to sell, manufacture, or transport liquor without a permit. The Blind Tiger did not "sell" liquor. That establishment, and many others like it, charged patrons an admission fee to see a "blind tiger." While the guests were inside looking at this "blind tiger," they just happened to consume the alcohol on hand, which was perfectly legal within the letter of the law.

Anyway, I'll be at the exchange from 9 AM to 5PM this Saturday. See you there!

Hope somebody reads this!

Hi! My name is James Morrison and this is the first entry to my new blog, which is based on my new book. Since a blog is incredibly boring if no one comments, please feel free to add your two cents to whatever rambling nonsense I put on this page.

To begin with, I believe that far too many Americans are ignorant of history, which is why we are doomed to repeat it and why the masses can be led rushing over the proverbial cliff like so many cattle. In doing research for this book and its sequel, which I'm writing now, I've come across many parallels between the 1920's and recent times. Here are a few:
1. A short housing boom followed by a bust.
2. An incredible increase in the size of federal law enforcement agencies.
3. A revolution in communication technology.
4. A credit crisis.
5. A massive war debt.
6. A tumultuous stock market.

There are many other similarities, but these are just a few to start with. What most people are not aware of is that the 'roaring twenties' began with a very bad recession, unemployment, and strikes on a massive scale, following the end of a disillusioning war. Due to cheap and easy credit, and the fact that the United States' main economic rivals were devastated by World War I, the economy boomed for several years. Eventually, the credit bubble burst, the stock market collapsed, and banks failed in massive numbers, leading to the Great Depression. And on that cheerful note, I'll conclude this entry.